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Gangliosides of various rat tissues: distribution of ganglio-N-tetraose-containing gangliosides and tissue-characteristic composition of gangliosides.

Gangliosides were extracted from various tissues of rat (Wistar strain, male, 3 months old) and their structures were elucidated by enzymatic and chemical procedures including the analysis by negative ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. All tissues analyzed contained gangliosides in various but characteristic concentrations. GD1a was detected in the various extraneural tissues (erythrocytes, buffy coat, bone marrow, testis, spleen, and liver) in amounts corresponding to more than 30% of total lipid-bound sialic acid, and surprisingly, it was the sole ganglioside found in buffy coat. The extraneural tissues were classified into several categories according to the nature of the asialo-oligosaccharides of gangliosides as follows: (1) gangliosides with ganglio-N-tetraose were exclusively present (buffy coat and erythrocytes), (2) the concentration of ganglio-N-tetraose-containing gangliosides was higher than that of lactose-containing gangliosides (testis and bone marrow), (3) ganglio-N-tetraose-containing gangliosides amounted to 25-30% of lactose-containing gangliosides (liver and spleen), (4) ganglio-N-tetraose-containing gangliosides amounted to 7-11% of lactose-containing gangliosides (lung and stomach), (5) more than 90% of gangliosides were lactose-containing gangliosides (heart, intestine, and kidney). In addition, the following gangliosides were characteristically detected in high concentration in the following tissues: GM4 in kidney. GM2 in bone marrow, fucosyl GM1 and GM1 in erythrocytes and GM3 with 2-hydroxy fatty acid, phytosphingosine and N-glycolylneuraminic acid in intestine.

Animals↗

The biosynthesis of brain gangliosides. Separation of membranes with different ratios of ganglioside sialylating activity to gangliosides.

Brain subcellular fractions were analysed for ganglioside-sialylating activity by measuring the incorporation of N-[3H]acetylneuraminic acid from CMP-N-[3H]acetylneuraminic acid into endogenous ganglioside acceptors (endogenous incorporation) and into exogenous lactosyceramide (haematoside synthetase activity). The ratios of endogenous incorporation to gangliosides and of haematoside synthetase to gangliosides for the synaptosomal and mitochondrial fractions from a washed crude mitochondrial fraction were lower than those obtained for other membrane fractions. The differences appear to reflect intrinsic characteristics of each membrane fraction. The results of labelling in vitro and the time course of labelling of gangliosides of the different subcellular fractions in vivo after injection of N-[3H]acetylmannosamine are consistent with the possibility of a subcellular site for synthesis of gangliosides different from that of ganglioside deposition.

Animals↗

Gangliosides in the blood plasma: levels of ganglio-series gangliosides in the plasma after administration of brain gangliosides.

The temporal change in the levels of the gangliotetraose-series gangliosides, i.e., GMla, GDla, GD1b, GT1b, in the blood plasma after intramuscular administration of bovine brain gangliosides (5 mg/kg) to beagle dogs (11.3-12.2 kg) was determined with high sensitivity by a recently developed thin-layer chromatography/enzyme-immunostaining method (Hirabayashi, Y., Koketsu, K., Higashi, H., Suzuki, Y., Matsumoto, M., Sugimoto, M. and Ogawa, T. (1986) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 876, 178-182). The amounts of GMla, GDla, GD1b, GT1b and their combined total in the plasma of beagle dogs before administration of gangliosides were 21 +/- 1, 36 +/- 7, 15 +/- 2, 16 +/- 2 and 88 +/- 6 pmol/ml of blood plasma, respectively. Trapezoidal calculation showed that the times of the maximum levels of GMla, GDla, GDlb, GTlb and the total of the their levels in the plasma were 8.0 +/- 1.2, 8.7 +/- 0.7, 6.3 +/- 2.0, 17.0 +/- 7.0 and 8.7 +/- 0.7 h after the administration of gangliosides, and their maximum concentrations were 517 +/- 37, 654 +/- 53, 160 +/- 5, 184 +/- 20 and 1383 +/- 74 pmol/ml, respectively. The maximum level of each ganglioside decreased gradually, reaching the normal level after 10 days. The half-maximum level of each ganglioside occurred 2-3 days after the administration. Asialo GM1 (GA1) was not detected plasma at any of the test times.

Animals↗

Gangliosides as markers of cortisone-sensitive and cortisone-resistant rabbit thymocytes: characterization of thymus-specific gangliosides and preferential changes of particular gangliosides in the thymus of cortisone-treated rabbits.

Neutral glycosphingolipids and gangliosides in rabbit thymus, spleen, bone marrow, and erythrocyte ghosts were analyzed by conventional chemical and enzymatic procedures and negative ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FABMS). Thymus gangliosides showed a characteristic composition. Major gangliosides comprising 75% of the total thymus gangliosides were sialosyl lacto-N-neo-tetraosyl- and sialosyl lacto-N-nor-hexaosylceramides containing NeuGc and palmitic acid. These major thymus gangliosides were not detected in spleen, bone marrow, or erythrocytes, whereas GD1a, which was not present in the thymus even in a trace amount, was present in spleen and bone marrow. In addition, the major gangliosides in rabbit thymus were preferentially reduced when an animal was given an intraperitoneal injection of cortisone acetate, as found on analysis 48 h later. The decrease was accompanied by a concomitant increase in NeuAc-containing GM3 with longer chain fatty acids.

Animals↗

Interaction of cholera toxin with gangliosides: differential effects of the oligosaccharide of ganglioside GM1 and of micellar gangliosides.

Ultraviolet difference absorption spectra of cholera toxin and its B protomer produced by the oligosaccharide moiety of the monosialoganglioside GM1 were measured as a function of the oligosaccharide concentration. In the presence of oligosaccharide, the spectrum is characterized by three peaks at 282, 288, and 292 nm. A linear increase in difference absorption was observed at these wavelengths vs. oligosaccharide concentration; a saturation effect occurred when the molar ratio of oligosaccharide to cholera toxin was higher than 5. The features of the spectra indicated that the binding with the oligosaccharide affected the environment of tryptophan and tyrosine residues of protomer B. In good agreement with the above results, circular dichroic spectra indicated also a local effect of the binding, mostly restricted to protomer B, while the residues of protomer A remained largely unperturbed. Difference absorption spectra were also measured for cholera toxin in the presence of ganglioside and detergent micelles. The employed gangliosides GD1a and GT1b, unable to bind cholera toxin, interact with the protein by way of contaminating traces of GM1. The preparations of GD1a and GT1b contained 0.8-1.0% (w/w) and 0.4-0.5% (w/w) of GM1, respectively. The results obtained with ganglioside GD1a and GT1b in contrast with the observations made with the oligosaccharide of GM1 indicated a major conformational change of the toxin structure. Upon comparison of the conformational change induced by ganglioside micelles with that induced by sodium dodecyl sulfate it may be suggested that the ganglioside micelle, behaving as a detergent, alters the structure of the toxin such as to induce the penetration of protomer A into the lipid milieu.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cholera Toxin↗

Interactions of pig brain cytosolic sialidase with gangliosides. The formation of catalytically inactive enzyme-ganglioside complexes requires homogeneous ganglioside micelles and is a reversible phenomenon.

Cytosolic sialidase A, obtained from pig brain and purified, interacts with ganglioside GT1b giving two catalytically inactive enzyme-ganglioside complexes. Treatment of these complexes with Triton X-100 under given conditions (1% detergent; 1 h at 37 degrees C; 0.1 M acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer, pH 4.8) leads to the liberation of part of the enzyme (about 47%) in a free and fully active form. Reversible inactivation of cytosolic sialidase requires the presence of homogeneous micelles of GT1b or of mixed micelles (for instance Triton X-100 and GT1b) with a high GT1b content. Triton X-100/ganglioside mixed micelles with a molar ratio above 50, as well as small unilamellar vesicles of egg yolk lecithin and GT1b (7-15 mol%), did not inactivate the enzyme at all; on the contrary these forms of ganglioside dispersion behaved as excellent substrates for the enzyme. It is to be concluded that under in vitro conditions the ability of ganglioside to interact with cytosolic sialidase, giving rise to catalytically inactive complexes or to Michaelis-Menten enzyme-substrate complexes, depends on the supramolecular organization of the ganglioside molecules. Arrangements of tightly packed molecules with strong side-side interactions facilitate the formation of complexes with the enzyme; arrangement with separated and loosely interacting molecules facilitates binding at the catalytically active site of the enzyme.

Animals↗

Characterization of gangliosides of porcine erythrocyte membranes: occurrence of ganglioside GD3 as major ganglioside.

Four major ganglioside species were isolated from porcine erythrocyte membranes by DEAE-Sephadex and Iatrobeads column chromatography. Treatment of the lipids with graded neuraminidase and beta-galactosidase, gas chromatographic analysis of their carbohydrates, sphingosine bases and molecular species of sialic acid revealed that the structure of these gangliosides were GM3(NeuAc), GM3(NeuGc), GD3(NeuAc) and GD3(NeuGc), each of which was 16 +/- 2 micrograms, 304 +/- 42 micrograms, 30 +/- 3 micrograms and 240 +/- 26 micrograms, respectively, per gram of the dry erythrocyte stroma. The amount of GM3 and GD3 accounted for more than 95% of total gangliosides of the erythrocytes. Porcine erythrocytes may provide a good source for large scale preparation of ganglioside GD3 which recently was identified as a human melanoma-associated antigen.

Animals↗

Negative ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry of gangliosides and asialo gangliosides: a useful method for the structural elucidation of gangliosides and related neutral glycosphingolipids.

Structural elucidation, including molecular weight, carbohydrate sequence and molecular species of the ceramide portion, of gangliosides and asialo gangliosides from bovine brain, was successfully performed by negative ion fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (NEG-FAB-MS). Ceramide monohexoside, ceramide dihexoside, asialo GM2 (GA2) and asialo GM1 (GA1), all of which were prepared from bovine brain gangliosides by treatment with 1 M formic acid and monosialogangliosides, GM3, GM2, and GM1, were analyzed without any derivatization by NEG-FAB-MS. They clearly gave the intensive molecular ion species, (M-H)-, and the fragment ions cleaved at glycosidic linkage sequentially from the non-reducing end with or without the ceramide portion. The spectra were quite simple, easily obtained without expansion of ion intensity, and extremely useful for the structural elucidation of underivatized glycosphingolipids.

Animals↗

Production of monoclonal antibodies directed to Hanganutziu-Deicher active gangliosides, N-glycolylneuraminic acid-containing gangliosides.

We have established three kinds of monoclonal antibodies against gangliosides containing N-glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuGc) by immunization of BALB/c mice with the purified gangliosides inserted into liposomes comprising Salmonella minnesota R595 lipopolysaccharides, and fusion of spleen cells with a mouse myeloma cell line. One monoclonal antibody, SHS-1, which was generated by immunizing mice with purified i-active ganglioside(NeuGc), reacted specifically with the i-active ganglioside(NeuGc) used as an immunogen. Structurally related gangliosides, such as GM3(NeuGc), sialosylparagloboside (SPG) (NeuGc), or I-active ganglioside(NeuGc), corresponding gangliosides [GM3 containing N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc), SPG(NeuAc), i-active ganglioside(NeuAc), and I-active ganglioside(NeuAc)], other gangliosides, or neutral glycosphingolipid (GSL) were not recognized by the monoclonal antibody. These findings indicate that the SHS-1 monoclonal antibody may be specific for NeuGc-containing i-active ganglioside. On the other hand, the other two monoclonal antibodies, MSG-1 and SPS-20, which were generated by immunizing mice with purified ganglioside GM3(NeuGc) and SPG(NeuGc), respectively, showed cross-reactivity to structurally related gangliosides. The MSG-1 monoclonal antibody exhibited reactivity to ganglioside GM3(NeuAc). The SPS-20 monoclonal antibody also cross-reacted with SPG(NeuAc), i-active ganglioside(NeuGc), and i-active ganglioside(NeuAc). Neither MSG-1 nor SPS-20 reacted with corresponding gangliosides, other gangliosides, or neutral GSLs tested. Using the SHS-1 antibody specific for i-active ganglioside(NeuGc), we studied the expression of NeuGc-containing antigen in human colon cancer tissue. An NeuGc-containing glycoconjugate was detected in the colon cancer tissue.

Animals↗

Gangliosides for acute ischaemic stroke.

BACKGROUND: Gangliosides may have a protective effect on the central and peripheral nervous systems. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to assess the effect of exogenous gangliosides in acute ischaemic stroke. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group trials register (last searched: March 1999) and contacted drug companies. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised trials of gangliosides compared with placebo or standard treatment in people with definite or presumed ischaemic stroke. Trials were included if people were randomised within 15 days of symptom onset and if mortality data were available. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: One reviewer applied the inclusion criteria. Two reviewers independently extracted the data. Trial quality was assessed. MAIN RESULTS: Eleven trials involving 2257 people were included. All the trials tested purified monosialoganglioside GM1. Only three trials described the randomisation procedure. Follow-up was between 15 to 180 days. Death at the end of follow-up showed no significant difference (odds ratio 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.73 to 1.14). There was no difference shown between early (within 48 hours) and delayed treatment. For disability, two trials showed an improved Barthel index score with gangliosides (weighted mean difference 8.6, 95% confidence interval 1.2 to 16.0). In two trials, eight patients experienced adverse effects that led to discontinuation of ganglioside treatment, seven had skin reactions and one developed Guillain-Barré syndrome. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: There is not enough evidence to conclude that gangliosides are beneficial in acute stroke. Caution is warranted because of reports of sporadic cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome after ganglioside therapy.

Brain Ischemia↗

Gangliosides of liver tumors induced by N-2-fluorenylacetamide. I. Ganglioside alterations in liver tumorigenesis and normal development.

Hyperplastic nodules and hepatocellular carcinomas were induced in livers of rats by a low-protein diet containing 0.05% of the carcinogen N-2-fluorenylacetamide. Ganglioside amounts and composition were determined for histologically different hepatocellular carcinomas and compared with those for control livers, hyperplastic nodules, and liver tissue surrounding hepatomas and nodules as well as those for livers of fetal, newborn, 1-week-old, weanling, and adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Ganglioside sialic acid levels were elevated above those of normal adult liver in all liver tissues following the carcinogen treatment regimen. Livers of fetal and newborn rats contained nearly twice the amount of ganglioside sialic acid on a protein or DNA basis as did livers of adult rats. Analyses of individual nodules and hepatomas revealed two populations of tumors in which the levels of ganglioside sialic acid were 2.3 and 3.8 times normal. Ganglioside sialic acid content was at hepatoma levels in small nodules. Individual gangliosides were evenly distributed between products of the monosialoganglioside and disialoganglioside pathways in normal liver with a ratio of [N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid)] (NAN)-galactose (Gal)-N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-(NAN)-Gal-glucose (Glc)-ceramide (Cer) (GD1a) to Gal-GalNAc-(NAN)2-Gal-Glc-Cer (GD1b) of about one. In contrast, the monosialogangliosides predominated in liver tissues following administration of the carcinogen. Increased levels of specific monosialogangliosides were present in nodules, in liver of carcinogen-treated animals prior to the appearance of tumors, and in the liver tissues surrounding nodules and hepatomas. In single hepatomas, ganglioside patterns correlated with tumorigenicity. A well-differentiated hepatoma had a normal complement of most gangliosides but was deficient in trisialogangliosides. In a poorly diferentiated but well-circumscribed hepatoma, the relative levels of all higher gangliosides were reduced. The monosialoganglioside Gal-GalNAc-(NAN)-Gal-Glc-Cer (GM1) accounted for 80% of the total ganglioside in a poorly circumscribed and poorly differentiated hepatoma. The ganglioside pattern of fetal livers most closely resembled that of a poorly differentiated hepatoma. During the first week post natum, levels of all higher monosialogangliosides and disialogangliosides declined, but the decline was most pronounced for gangliosides GM1 and GD1a. The ratio of GM1 + GD1a to GD1b + NAN-Gal-GalNAc-(NAN)2-Gal-Glc-Cer or (NAN)3-Gal-Glc-Cer (GT), used as an index of the relative predominance of the monoslaloganglioside and disialoganglioside pathways, fell from 2.7 for fetal liver to 0.4 for adult liver. Pools of precursor gangliosides increased during development, transiently for GalNAc-(NAN)-Gal-Glc-Cer and for more than 3 weeks for NAN-Gal-Glc-Cer. When hyperplastic nodules and hepatocellular carcinomas were compared, a reverse pattern was observed. The ratio of GM1 + GD1a to GD1b + GT rose steadily to values of 2.7 and 11...

2-Acetylaminofluorene↗

The influence of ganglioside insertion into brain membranes on the rate of ganglioside degradation by membrane-bound sialidase.

Microsomal membranes isolated from calf brain contain a sialidase which cleaves ganglioside substrates naturally occurring within these membranes as well as exogenously added [3H]ganglioside GD1a. Micelles of [3H]ganglioside GD1a bind to the microsomal membranes in two steps. The first step, called adsorption, is fast and reversible by treatment with trypsin; the second step, called uptake, is slower and not reversible. The product of the enzymic degradation, [3H]ganglioside GM1, is exclusively located in the ganglioside pool taken up by the sialidase-bearing membranes, and not in the trypsin-releasable pool. Electron spin resonance (ESR) studies using a spin-labelled analogue of ganglioside GD1a indicate that the ganglioside uptake by microsomal membranes is accompanied by the disappearance of the micellar structure and by the 'dilution' of the probe molecules with membrane lipids. These findings suggest that exogenously added ganglioside substrate inserts into the microsomal membrane before it is recognized as substrate by the membrane-bound sialidase. Therefore, the influence of pH, ionic strength and membrane-fluidizing agents on the degradation rate measured with exogenous ganglioside GD1a does not only reflect kinetic parameters of the enzymic reaction itself but also the velocity of ganglioside insertion. Increasing ionic strength reduces the degradation rate. The acceleration of insertion with falling pH values shifts the measured pH optimum of the ganglioside degradation to lower values (pH 3.6) and masks the substantial residual sialidase activity at pH 5-7. The membrane-fluidizing alcohol n-hexanol greatly accelerates ganglioside insertion as well as ganglioside degradation. The latter was clearly demonstrated by studying the hydrolysis of endogenous ganglioside substrates, and is due to a decrease of the apparent Km value and an increase in the Vmax value. The Vmax value was also enhanced by freezing and thawing of the microsomal membranes.

Animals↗

Characterization of blood group ABO(H)-active gangliosides in type AB erythrocytes and structural analysis of type A-active ganglioside variants in type A human erythrocytes.

Several monosialogangliosides containing the type A-active epitope have been detected in type A erythrocytes on immunological analysis with a monoclonal antibody, and three of them were purified by repeated silica bead column chromatography and by scraping from the TLC plate. Two of these A-active gangliosides were characterized by methylation analysis by GC/MS, negative SIMS, MALDI-TOF/MS, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and immunological assays, and their structures were concluded to be as follows. A-active ganglioside I:A-active ganglioside II:The reactivity of the purified gangliosides to the anti-A monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) exhibited enhancement after removal of the sialic acid. Therefore, the sialic residue has been shown to inhibit the binding to the terminal A-active epitope through the formation of an immune complex. To confirm the presence of A- (including S-A-I, -II and -III) and B-active gangliosides, the reactivity of anti-A and -B mAbs were investigated using total gangliosides from type A, -B and -AB erythrocytes on TLC plate. The results were that the gangliosides from types A and AB showed positive reaction to anti-A mAbs, whereas in the anti-B mAbs binding the gangliosides from types B and AB were positive. Thus, it revealed that A-active gangliosides were present in type A and -AB, and B-active gangliosides in types B and AB. As there was no difference in respective gangliosides on type AB erythrocytes of 22 individuals, both A- and B-active gangliosides are equally present in type AB erythrocytes. The biological significance of these A- and B-active ganglioside variants remains vague at present. As these molecules exhibit different reactivities to the anti-A mAbs, it is very likely that they can regulate the antigenicity of the A-epitope on the cell surface.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

Determination of the localization of gangliosides using anti-ganglioside antibodies: comparison of fixation methods.

Many studies have examined the localization of gangliosides using anti-ganglioside antibodies, although widely differing conclusions have been reached. We now demonstrate that the apparent localization of gangliosides can be greatly influenced by the fixation method. Using monoclonal antibody (MAb) A2B5 (which reacts with a variety of gangliosides), hippocampal neurons were labeled at the cell surface when incubated with the antibody before fixation, but when incubated after fixation the cells displayed a variety of labeling patterns, depending on the fixation method. Biochemical analysis demonstrated that some of the fixatives (particularly acetone and methanol) significantly reduced or completely depleted cellular gangliosides, implying that the immunoreactivity observed with A2B5, and with other antibodies, was not due to gangliosides. When neurons were incubated with an anti-GD1b antibody prefixation, uniform labeling of the plasma membrane was observed, but after ganglioside depletion using biochemical inhibitors of ganglioside synthesis no cell surface labeling was detected. However, even in cells depleted of gangliosides, labeling of both the cell surface and intracellular compartments was observed when the anti-GD1b antibody was applied after fixation. Moreover, after fixation, antibodies to GM4 and GD2 reacted with hippocampal neurons, although these gangliosides are absent from these neurons. In contrast, the JONES antibody (which reacts with 9-O-acetylated GD3) labeled neurons with a similar pattern, essentially irrespective of the fixation method. These observations demonstrate that great care must be taken in assigning gangliosides to specific cell populations or to intracellular locations solely on the basis of use of anti-ganglioside antibodies, and suggest that optimal fixation conditions must be established for each anti-ganglioside antibody.

Animals↗

Gangliosides suppress the proliferation of autoreactive cells in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis: ganglioside effects on IL-2 activity.

Gangliosides have been shown to suppress human and murine lymphocyte proliferative responses in vitro. We tested the suppressive effects of gangliosides on the proliferation of autoreactive lymphoid cells obtained from Lewis rats with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). Exogenous rat brain gangliosides inhibited both antigen- and mitogen-induced proliferation by as much as 79 and 93%, respectively. Gangliosides similarly inhibited the antigen-induced proliferation of a myelin basic protein (MBP)-reactive T-cell line which is able to passively induce EAE. Suppression was greatest when gangliosides were added at the initiation of culture, and was not abrogated by supraoptimal antigen concentration. Interleukin 2 (IL-2) activity in culture supernatants was not diminished by the addition of gangliosides. Gangliosides did not inhibit the IL-2-induced proliferation of a murine IL-2-dependent cell line, CTLL-20, unless the IL-2 was first preincubated with gangliosides before the addition of CTLL-20. Preincubation of CTLL-20 with gangliosides resulted in no inhibition of the subsequent responses to IL-2. Exogenous gangliosides did not decrease the binding of a monoclonal antibody directed against the rat cell surface IL-2 receptor. Addition of exogenous IL-2 to ganglioside-suppressed cultures had no effect or only partially restored the proliferative responses. Therefore, gangliosides were shown to inhibit the proliferation of autoreactive lymphoid cells without affecting IL-2 production or IL-2 receptor expression.

Animals↗

High-affinity anti-ganglioside IgG antibodies raised in complex ganglioside knockout mice: reexamination of GD1a immunolocalization.

Gangliosides, sialic acid-bearing glycosphingolipids, are highly enriched in the vertebrate nervous system. Anti-ganglioside antibodies are associated with various human neuropathies, although the pathogenicity of these antibodies remains unproven. Testing the pathogenic role of anti-ganglioside antibodies will be facilitated by developing high-affinity IgG-class complement-fixing monoclonal anti-bodies against major brain gangliosides, a goal that has been difficult to achieve. In this study, mice lacking complex gangliosides were used as immune-naive hosts to raise anti-ganglioside antibodies. Wild-type mice and knockout mice with a disrupted gene for GM2/GD2 synthase (UDP-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine : GM3/GD3 N-acetyl-D-glactosaminyltransferase) were immunized with GD1a conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin. The knockout mice produced a vigorous anti-GD1a IgG response, whereas wildtype littermates failed to do so. Fusion of spleen cells from an immunized knockout mouse with myeloma cells yielded numerous IgG anti-GD1a antibody-producing colonies. Ganglioside binding studies revealed two specificity classes; one colony representing each class was cloned and characterized. High-affinity monoclonal antibody was produced by each hybridoma : an IgG1 that bound nearly exclusively to GD1a and an IgG2b that bound GD1a, GT1b, and GT1aalpha. Both antibodies readily readily detected gangliosides via ELISA, TLC immune overlay, immunohistochemistry, and immunocytochemistry. In contrast to prior reports using anti-GD1a and anti-GT1b IgM class monoclonal antibodies, the new antibodies bound avidly to granule neurons in brain tissue sections and cell cultures. Mice lacking complex gangliosides are improved hosts for raising high-affinity, high-titer anti-ganglioside IgG antibodies for probing for the distribution and physiology of gangliosides and the pathophysiology of anti-ganglioside antibodies.

Animals↗

Phase behavior of ganglioside-lecithin mixtures. Relation to dispersion of gangliosides in membranes.

Ganglioside GM1 and mixed brain gangliosides were mixed with 1-stearoyl-2-oleoyl lecithin (SOPC) and examined by differential scanning calorimetry as a function of ganglioside content and temperature. Low mole fractions of ganglioside GM1 and of mixed brain gangliosides are shown to be miscible with SOPC in the gel phase up to X = 0.3, with the possible exception of a small region of immiscibility for the mixed brain gangliosides system centered around X = 0.05. Above X = 0.3, the low-temperature phases demix into a (gel) phase of composition X = 0.3 and a (micellar) phase of composition X = 1.0. Above the endothermic phase transition temperature, no phase boundaries are discerned. It is pointed out that phase structures need to be determined in each domain delineated in the phase diagrams, and that cylindrical phases may exist at higher temperatures and intermediate compositions. The effects of addition of wheat germ agglutinin, which binds to ganglioside GM1, on a ganglioside GM1-SOPC mixture (X = 0.5), are described and interpreted in terms of partial demixing of ganglioside and lecithin. Behavior of the ganglioside-SOPC system is discussed with respect to the kinetics of cholera toxin action in lymphocytes, as well as to other physiological roles of gangliosides in membranes.

Calorimetry, Differential Scanning↗

Fluorescent gangliosides as probes for the retention and organization of fibronectin by ganglioside-deficient mouse cells.

Ganglioside-deficient transformed mouse fibroblasts (NCTC 2071A cells), which grow in serum-free medium, synthesize fibronectin but do not retain it on the cell surface. When fluorescent derivatives of gangliosides, containing either rhodamine or Lucifer yellow CH attached to the sialic acid residues, were added to the culture medium, the cells incorporated the derivatives and their surfaces became highly fluorescent. When the cells were stained with anti-fibronectin antibodies and a fluorescent second antibody, fibrillar strands of fibronectin were observed to be attached to the cell surface, with partial coincidence of the patterns of direct ganglioside fluorescence and indirect fibronectin immunofluorescence at the cell surface. When the cells were exposed to bacterial neuraminidase during the time of ganglioside insertion, similar patterns of fluorescence were observed. Because the fluorescent gangliosides are resistant to the enzyme, these results suggest that neuraminidase-sensitive endogenous glycoconjugates were not involved in the ganglioside-mediated retention and organization of endogenous fibronectin. After cells were exposed to exogenous chicken fibronectin, most of the fibronectin was attached to the substratum and only a few fibrils were attached to the cells. When exogenous gangliosides were included in the incubation, there was a striking increase in cell-associated exogenous fibronectin, which was highly organized into a fibrillar network. Conversely, cells incubated for 18 h with exogenous unmodified gangliosides exhibited a highly organized network of endogenously derived fibronectin. Upon further incubation of the cells for 2 h with fluorescent gangliosides, there was considerable co-distribution of the fluorescent gangliosides with the fibronectin network as revealed by immunofluorescence. Our results support the concept that gangliosides can mediate the attachment of fibronectin to the cell surface and its organization into a fibrillar network.

Animals↗